Forensic Mental Health Counseling

The Master of Arts in Forensic Mental Health Counseling seeks to:

• Prepare graduate students for careers as master's level mental health counselors in forensic settings
• Prepare graduate students for further academic training at the doctoral level (Psy.D.) in applied, clinical, experimental, or legal psychology
• Provide students with training in the areas of clinical assessment and intervention
• Provide students with internship/practicum experiences that will promote and develop professional skills in clinical forensic psychology

The Forensic Mental Health Counseling program is designed to provide the necessary coursework and professional hours to fulfill state licensure requirements for students to become independent mental health clinicians (commonly with an LMHC, LCMHC, LPC, or similar designation). The Program allows for approved course substitutions and additional practicum hours as necessary to allow students to fulfill specific state licensure requirements.

Graduates in Forensic Mental Health Counseling are able to:

• Expertly administer and interpret the WAIS-IV and WISC-IV and their protocols as well as the MMPI-2 and other personality inventories
• Conduct and write up initial clinical interviews, Mental Status Examinations and compile complete client social history
• Provide and initial case conceptualization with case write-up and proposed treatment plan
• Operate effectively in a group design form of treatment
• Provide psycho-educational services in areas of expertise

Graduates of the program typically seek employment as mental health counselors or pursue study at the doctoral level, most commonly in Psy.D. programs.  

Employers of our Graduates

Doctoral Programs

In the fall of 2020, we provided a series of expert lectures spanning a number of topics in forensic and legal psychology:

• Topics in Legal Psychology: How Jurors Think About the Death Penalty: A Cognitive and Affective Paradigm and Investigative Eyewitness Procedures: Safeguards for Law Enforcement to Reduce Erroneous Convictions Due to Mistaken Identification
   
• A Qualitative Analysis of Adults Who Committed Murder as an Adolescent: Implications for Post-Miller Hearings
   
• Hegemonic Masculinity: Impact on Sexual Aggression and Intervention Strategies
   

Access the Recordings

The Practicum and Internship Experience

Clinical licensure requirements in most states require two semesters of practicum and two semesters of internship. Students will work with the graduate practicum placement coordinator to secure a clinical practicum by the spring of their first year. Students will complete Clinical Practicum I (Psych 591) during the spring semester of their first year along with a 60 hour (about 4 hours/week) clinical practicum. Clinical Practicum II (Psych 592) will be completed during the summer between their first and second years and will require a total of 120 hours (about 8 hours/week). Students will then complete Clinical Internship (Psych 598) during the fall and spring semesters of their second year along with a 300 hour (about 20 hours/week) clinical placement. Students receive clinical supervision on-site from a supervisor employed at the training placement who has entered into a training agreement with RWU. Additionally, students have weekly small group  supervision with a licensed member of the psychology faculty at RWU. 

Our students have successfully trained in the following practicum sites:

• Rhode Island Training School at Cranston
• Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons at Bridgewater
• Juvenile Court Clinics in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island
• Gateway Healthcare
• Rhode Island State Psychiatric Hospital- Competency Restoration Unit
• Rhode Island Department of Corrections
• North American Family Institute (NAFI-RI)
• Rhode Island Family Court
• The Providence Center
• Massachusetts Correctional Institute through Wellpath
• BH-Link Crisis Response Center
• Tides Family Services
• Communities for People